SOME FEATURES OF THE RAND GOLD MINING 



INDUSTRY. 



By W. A. Caldecott, D.Sc. 



It is now twelve years since the writer submitted to the 

 South African Association for the Advancement of Science a 

 paper entitled, " The Development of Gold Extraction Methods 

 on the Witwatersrand," and tw-enty-tive years since his experience 

 began of life and work on the Rand. During the years that have 

 passed since 1903 the metallurgical progress made has been 

 considerable and continuous, though its rate has varied. This 

 has been in spite of industrial and seditious troubles and the 

 present world-wide war, in which South Africa is involved, but 

 which has not prevented the steady daily production by the 

 mines for shipment to London of £100,000 worth of gold, the 

 material basis of credit. Since 1903 the technical details of 

 much of this progress has been ably reviewed at meetings of 

 this Association by Messrs. J. R. Williams and H. A. White, 

 and more recently by Professor G. H. Stanley. Under these 

 circumstances, the author proposes to include in his review 

 certain general considerations, which are not the less important, 

 because in some cases their influence upon g( Id extraction is 

 indirect. 



The tabular statement on page 1 14 shows the main results of 

 the operation of the Witwatersrand gold mines during the past 

 twelve years, and is compiled from figures published bv the 

 Government Mines Department and Transvaal Chamber of 

 Mines. 



